Assistant DA fired after police incident

Updated 11:11 pm, Tuesday, June 4, 2013

A Bexar County assistant district attorney has been fired following an incident in which she was mentioned in a friend's driving while intoxicated arrest report for advising him not to submit to a breath test.

Richardson's firing kicked off what has been a rough start to the week for the district attorney's office because of controversies.

On Sunday, it was reported by San Antonio Express-News columnist Brian Chasnoff that a DWI case had been dropped with little explanation against Truman Biggs, the teen son of the white-collar-crimes division chief Adriana Biggs despite two breath tests that indicated a 0.17 blood alcohol level. In an interview, District Attorney Susan Reed distanced herself from the decision, criticizing the way the special prosecutor dropped the case.

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On Tuesday, Reed appeared in court accompanied by other division chiefs to adamantly deny allegations that she had a “sexual tryst” with prominent physician Calvin Day, whose patient rape trial begins this week.

In an interview Tuesday with the Express-News, Richardson, 27, acknowledged the police report “makes me sound like I was being a jerk or a prima donna.” But parts of the officer's account were a misunderstanding, she said, explaining that she never intended to exert any influence by showing her badge.

As for advising her friend, it was a mistake that she has paid for with her job, she said.

“I was dumb. I should have kept my mouth shut,” she said. “I have the utmost respect for the San Antonio Police Department and the work they do, and I don't think that anybody should drive under the influence of alcohol.”

Richardson was a passenger in Ricardo Ramirez's Mazda 3 that evening when the vehicle was observed slowly drifting over a solid white line along Interstate 10 near the De Zavala Road exit, according to police.

The two had just left dinner at 20nine Restaurant and Wine Bar at Alamo Quarry Market, where they had shared a bottle of wine, Ramirez told the officer, according to police. Ramirez was arrested after failing a field sobriety test.

That's when Richardson, listed in police documents only as “passenger” or “P,” identified herself as a prosecutor and “flashed her badge,” police said.

“P then stated that she was not trying to 'pull rank' and requested to speak with (Ramirez),” the report states. “P told (Ramirez) not to blow or let 'them' take (his) blood. P then told (him) to take a personal recognizance bond that she had in the wallet that contained her identification and badge.

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“P pulled out the paperwork and threw it on (Ramirez's) lap. I told P not to give (Ramirez) any property and then retrieved the bond and gave it back to P.”

Also during the course of the arrest, Richardson asked to also be given a field sobriety test to see if she was sober enough to drive Ramirez's car home. Given that Ramirez indicated they drank the same amount, the officer declined the request.

“P was advised that she could ride with the tow truck to the gas station, and P stated that it was ridiculous,” the document states.

Richardson declined to comment on the alleged “ridiculous” statement or the police account of her giving Ramirez paperwork. But her badge was only revealed to the officer because he asked for her identification and, like many prosecutors, she kept all documents in the same wallet, she said.

“I was terrified,” she said. “I wasn't sure what was going on. I didn't think the driver was inebriated. I didn't know what I was supposed to do and nobody was communicating with me.”

First Assistant District Attorney Cliff Herberg declined to comment on any circumstances of Richardson's departure, citing personnel issues. He noted only that the unnamed person in the police report was no longer employed at the office.

Richardson's name was revealed after the Express-News filed an open records request seeking a list of attorneys who ceased employment last week.

“We expect our prosecutors to conduct themselves with the highest standards of professionalism and integrity, and if you don't, you don't work here,” Herberg said, urging that he was not speaking about any specific case. “When you come to work here, you sign a statement that says you're expected to conduct yourself (honorably) in both your personal and your professional affairs.”